Arkansas Blog

Arkansas Democrats hire new executive director

The Arkansas Democratic Party has hired Ted Dick, former director of the Montana Democratic Party and director of the Olympia, Wash.-based Senate Democratic Campaign Committee, as its executive director.

He was chosen in a search begun after Candace Martin's departure.

Vince Insalaco, party chair, said Dick has extensive experience as a campaign manager for state and federal candidates and is a skilled fundraiser and grassroots organizer.

It goes without saying that times are tough with Democrats after the 2014 elections — driven in part by anti-Obama sentiment — gave the GOP a sweep of Congress and statewide offices plus huge margins in the legislature along with gains in local offices. Recent days have seen one Democratic legislator switch parties and some other announcements by former Democrats to seek office as Republicans (switches that will be interesting to watch given the binary nature of Republican Party politics — will GOP voters really trust somebody who once voted for Obama?).

Says on this blog that Dick helped Democrats to a good year in Montana in 2010 (they have a Democratic governor and U.S. senator) and that he'd helped organize the Service Employees International Union there.

Democrats will have an open house at party headquarters from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 19, the day of the Razorback game in Little Rock Fayetteville, for people to meet Dick.